Ukraine says 406 POWs tortured to death in Russian captivity

The Russian Federation has tortured 406 Ukrainian citizens who had confirmed prisoner-of-war status.

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets made the statement in response to a question from an Ukrinform correspondent following the presentation of the project “Made in Russia. Delivered to Captivity.”

“According to our data, 406 Ukrainian citizens – prisoners of war and civilian hostages whose status as ‘captured’ was verified either by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross or through other methods and sources – were tortured and returned to Ukraine, unfortunately, ‘on a shield,’” he said.

Lubinets noted that the most common cases involve injuries such as broken ribs and damage to internal organs caused by torture, which often led to death. He also pointed to the denial of medical assistance after torture as a contributing factor.

In addition, during the presentation, the Ombudsman said that according to Ukrainian data, 2,112 people have been sentenced by the Russian Federation.

“This is a separate crime committed by the Russian Federation – issuing illegal court rulings of 20, 23, 25 years, or life imprisonment against official Ukrainian prisoners of war,” he said.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights also stated that Russia uses 695 different forms of torture against Ukrainian prisoners of war, including physical and psychological abuse and sexual violence.